Kukla's Korner Hockey

If Nabokov does honor his KHL agreement, it would seem that Marty Turco benefits to some degree. Turco acknowledged at the start of the signing period that it was “scary” leaving Dallas (a franchise that no longer wants or can afford him) and going on the open market at an age when retirement is easier to foresee than a two-year contract. However, the Sharks could use him for his remaining talents and knowledge of Western Conference shooters. Having him as a mentor to Niittymaki isn’t a bad idea, either.

Despite the spin that San Jose gave his signing, Nittymaki is not a proven playoff performer. He’s not even a proven No.1 in regular season play. The Sharks haven’t broken up their team with an eye to rebuilding, they are still attempting to go farther than they did in last spring’s playoffs and will need some help in net to realize their goal. More than a few teams can say the same. Turco can fit that bill.

Comments

I doubt it. Turco hasn’t had much more playoff success than Nittymaki , and if San Jose wanted to get another UFA goalie to carry 30-40 games, they probably would have got Mason for half the price of Turco.

Posted by
Chris in A^2
from Nyquist Puck Control on 07/08/10 at 10:19 PM ET

This is not a good year for goalies. In this Cap Era, if you’re a vet goalie but don’t win, you don’t get many chances. Teams will try the younger, cheaper goalie instead.

Turco isn’t capable of winning the big games, and now everyone knows it.

Martin Biron, oddly enough, may “get it” better than all these other vet goalies. He signed cheap with the NYI last year, and signed super cheap again this year as a backup. He knows there’s no large payday looming any more and he should grab a backup slot if he can land it, at whatever price. At least then he has a chance to earn a #1 spot back.

Unless guys like Nabakov and Turco want to split time or back someone up, there is no #1 spot waiting for them. Nobody wants to tie that much money up in a guy and then watch the backup waltz in and take over (in other words, everyone else has learned form Chicago’s mistake).

He signed cheap with the NYI last year, and signed super cheap again this year as a backup. He knows there’s no large payday looming any more and he should grab a backup slot if he can land it, at whatever price. At least then he has a chance to earn a #1 spot back.

Take away the #1 spot from Lundqvist? Not a chance.

Posted by
Chris in A^2
from Nyquist Puck Control on 07/09/10 at 05:43 AM ET